Unions petition Hun Sen for ‘benefits’ for suspended workers

MORE than 20 unions and associations gathered in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet on Monday to have him force employers to pay seniority payments after the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training announced its postponement.

Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) president Yang Sophorn said the ministry’s decision affected the living conditions of workers challenged with job losses and layoffs.

She said postponing seniority payments was taking a toll on working families.

Sophorn said there is still no solution so therefore the unions were seeking the prime minister’s intervention.

“We insist the prime minister reconsider t he workers’ benefit. If he thinks about t he worker’s benefits, they will get t heir benefits back. I believe only the workers can give him power through elections. Therefore we ask t hat he thinks about t he workers,” she said.

Sophorn said many factories have suspended workers and they have received very little subsidies from the government and employers.

She said she expects t he

Prime Minister will prov ide a solution because Hun Sen’s of fice is t he last place to seek help.

Kong Chamroeun, an official in charge of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, told The Post that a working group was reviewing the request and a decision would be announced later.

“They have their right to request and the petition has been submitted to the management already. A decision will be announced tomorrow or the next day, I don’t know. We have an expert team and after review, they will submit [a recommendation] to the leader,” he said.

Ministr y spokesman Heng Sour told The Post on Monday t hat ever yone has t he r ig ht to pet it ion. However, he st ressed t hat proposa ls must be based on lega l sta ndards a nd t he minist r y issued its measures to mainta in jobs a nd not impact workers f ur t her.

“The ministry’s priority is to maintain the production chain and keep as many jobs as possible to ensure workers do not have zero wages,” he said.

www.phnompenhpost.com